When the coated surface of a vehicle has been flawed or dented and needs repairing, a process is performed in which the primer, surfacer, and paint with which the panel surface (steel plate) has been coated are peeled off by polishing. Further, a process is performed in which the damaged portion is filled with putty etc. and in which the putty surface and the body surface are polished so as to make them flush with each other.
Usually, in these processes, the operation is conducted by using a polishing device which is, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, equipped with a polishing panel body 100 having a sandpaper 101 constituting the polishing material glued to its surface opposed to the surface to be repaired, and a holding part 102, 103 fixed to the polishing panel body 100.
The holding part, which is formed in a variety of forms according to the use, e.g., for both hands or one hand, is roughly classified in the following two patterns: a first pattern in which it is simply formed as a plate as shown in FIG. 21, and a second pattern in which it is equipped with a bar-shaped grip. In both patterns, the holding part is firmly fixed to the polishing panel body 100 so as to protrude upright from the center of the polishing panel body 100.
The polishing operation using the polishing device is performed not only on a flat portion which allows the operation to be conducted in an easy position, but also on a portion having a curved surface and a portion requiring operation in an uneasy position, e.g., a portion around a tire house and an inwardly bent portion at the lower end of a door. Thus, the operator has to appropriately change the operating direction of the polishing device or the way he holds the holding part.
However, the conventional polishing device, in which the holding part and the polishing panel body are fixed to each other, can only be held at a fixed holding angle. In other words, the degree of operational freedom of the polishing device is rather low. Conducting operation while holding the holding part in an irregular fashion leads to a pain and fatigue in the hand, resulting in a substantial reduction in the general operational efficiency.
Further, when the conventional polishing device is being used, the plate-shaped holding part protruding upright from the polishing panel body is held by hand, so that the external force (pressure) transmitted from the holding part to the surface to be polished is transmitted to a point considerably spaced apart from the surface to be polished. Thus, polishing is performed with the polishing device being in an unstable state, so that the smoothness of the surface to be repaired (the surface to be polished) is disturbed or the sandpaper undergoes unsymmetrical wear, which can not only impair the operability of the polishing device, but also adversely affect the vehicle repairing operation itself.